(CIHRS/IFEX) – The following is a CIHRS press release: Cairo, June 28, 2006 Syrian Authorities Escalate Security Campaign to Suppress Reformers and Human Rights Activists The Syrian authority has seriously escalated its security campaign, and continued to terrorize and suppress civil society reformers and human rights activists in total disregard of all human rights principles. […]
(CIHRS/IFEX) – The following is a CIHRS press release:
Cairo, June 28, 2006
Syrian Authorities Escalate Security Campaign to Suppress Reformers and Human Rights Activists
The Syrian authority has seriously escalated its security campaign, and continued to terrorize and suppress civil society reformers and human rights activists in total disregard of all human rights principles. The CIHRS is deeply disturbed at the prohibiting of Dr. Redwan Zyada, head of the Damascus Center for Human Rights, from travelling on June 26, 2006 to Jordan where he was supposed to participate in a conference on “Human Rights in the framework of Criminal Justice,” sponsored by Mr. Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. The CIHRS has been notified that the prohibition is not limited to Jordan, that it is general in nature and that the review of the prohibition is conditional upon the approval of the intelligence services.
It is worth mentioning that more than 13 human rights and political activists and others calling for reform and democracy in Syria were subjected last month to secret arrest campaigns. They have been accused of various crimes, the penalty for some of which amounts to life imprisonment, because of the peaceful expression of their viewpoints. Detainees have also been subjected to physical assault in places of detention.
In continued violation of freedom of opinion and expression and relevant international conventions ratified by the Syrian Government, Syrian authorities blocked the independent e-paper entitled “The Syrian Scene”, issued by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. In addition, the Syrian authorities continue to bring inhuman pressures to bear upon Syrian citizens because of their human rights-related and political activities. For example, two public employees were harassed and dismissed from their jobs.
Denouncing the oppressive practices of the Syrian authorities and continued campaigns against civil society activists and human rights defenders, the CIHRS calls anew upon the Syrian authorities to immediately release and drop the charges made against detainees, to cancel the decisions made to prohibit some of them from travelling abroad, and to safeguard Syrian citizens’ right of movement according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also calls upon the authorities to unblock the “Syrian Scene” e-paper, to respect citizens’ right to express their opinion and choose suitable means of expression, and demands that employees dismissed from their jobs because of their human-rights-related and political activities be compensated.
